Thicker than Water
by xpurebloodprofilersx
Summary: They tell her that blood runs thicker than water. Bellatrix believes it, to a certain extent. But she also knows that the term "family" doesn't limit itself to those who are related by blood. So where does one draw the line? Bellatrix life story, more or less canon
1. Chapter 1

_"Now he's wrapped around her finger_

_She's the center of his whole world" _

- "All-American Girl"

Carrie Underwood

The morning of May 2, 1960 was a rather unusual one for Slytherin House. Normally at the beginning of May, students would be hard at work in the common room, studying notes from earlier in the year, reading large text books, practicing spells, finishing projects, writing essays, tutoring first years, and other things that would begin to prepare them for their final exams that loomed nearer and nearer as the school year drew to a close. Sixth and seventh year boys would whisper about politics, fourth and fifth year girls would try to get older boys to notice them, friends would braid one another's hair and trade chocolate frog cards and play wizard's chess, couples would plan Hogsmeade trips, young girls would giggle about boys, and first years would discuss how great it would be when they were no longer at the bottom of the totem pole. Quidditch players would gather around a table and a piece of parchment and decide their game plan, for the Slytherin-Hufflepuff Quidditch game was always at the beginning of May.

But this morning was different. No one was working, reading, practicing, writing, tutoring, whispering, giggling, playing, planning or plotting. In fact, hardly anyone was in the Slytherin Common Room or the Slytherin dormitories at all. Textbooks and chess games and chocolate frog cards lay abandoned by their owners, and the fire was dying out.

There were exactly five people left in the Slytherin dormitories: Madame Rosa Ackerman, the Hogwarts school nurse, Irma Black and Mona Rosier both of whom were in their fifties, and sixth year Druella Rosier-Black, who had just given birth to her first child, a little girl. Madame Ackerman had chased all of the other Slytherin students out of the dormitories and common room to maximize Druella's privacy. Now that the birth was over, the nurse returned to the Hospital Wing, leaving the new mother and grandmothers with the baby.

Druella lay on the bed in her dormitory, panting slightly, her blonde hair plastered onto her forehead with sweat, as she clutched her newborn child to her chest. The baby was small, smaller than she had expected. She was certainly lovely. Her wet black spirals stuck up in places, her face was pink, and her large brown eyes stared up at her mother, completely focused on her. Every few minutes the baby would let out a high pitch screech, making Druella and the others jump, but she did not cry.

"Here," said Irma, Druella's mother-in-law. "I knitted this little cap for her, look." She handed the cap to her daughter.

Druella's eyes filled with tears.

The cap was blue.

To any normal new mother, of course the day her child is born would be an emotional one. But for Druella, this day was even more emotional.

Why?

Because she was a failure.

Growing up, Druella was one of eleven children. She was not the oldest or the youngest, the smartest or the prettiest, the funniest or the most well behaved. And she was a _girl_, on top of that. She was often the forgotten middle child, the plain one, the boring one. Her parents hadn't even bothered to pick a husband for her! If her elder sister, the first wife of Cygnus Black III, hadn't fallen ill and passed away, she probably would've married a Crabbe or a Goyle, or something equally disgusting. But no, she was married to Cygnus Black. _The _Cygnus Black.

And she had given him a daughter, not a son. No heir. No one to pass on the Black name, no one to uphold the family beliefs and morals.

She was the daughter that had produced a daughter.

She was very lucky to have been given the privilege of marrying into such an important family. Her husband's grandmother, Violetta Black, often said how Druella was not of clean enough blood to marry her eldest grandson. But the wedding had gone on anyways, simply because Cygnus was so in love with Druella's dead sister.

And now Walburga, Cygnus's sister, was going to have her child soon! Oh, and if it was a boy, Cygnus would be so upset. Druella couldn't stand the thought of her arrogant fifteen year old sister-in-law having a son before she did; the boasting would be unbearable.

Druella hung her head, wiping a tear from her eye before it could fall. She had not done what was expected of her. She slid the blue cap onto her daughter's head, covering the pretty little curls, and the child screeched again.

"Well, she certainly has a mouth on her," said Mona disapprovingly. "She sounds like your sister Magnolia."

Druella smiled fondly through her tears. Magnolia was one of her favorite sisters, and she certainly did have a loud mouth. Usually Magnolia and Druella were very close, but now that Druella was a failure, she wasn't sure what her proud pureblooded sister would think of her.

"Don't smile; stand up straight," Mona scolded. Druella sat up taller and the smile slipped from her delicate features.

"Cygnus should be here any moment," said Irma, awkwardly breaking the silence that had filled the room.

Druella choked back another sob. What would Cygnus say?

"Merlin, girl, stop your silly emotional outbursts!" Mona scolded. "You need to control your emotions! Your husband will be here momentarily, didn't you hear? Perhaps you should start thinking of an apology!" She looked in disdain towards the baby, who was now asleep.

Druella, however, didn't have time for thinking of an apology, because seconds later, her husband entered the room.

"Is it a boy?" were the first words that came out of Cygnus's mouth.

"No," all three women said at once. Cygnus's face fell. Irma and Mona exited the dormitory, leaving the couple alone with their new child.

"A girl," he said indifferently, walking over to his wife's bedside.

"Yes, Cygnus, I'm so, _so_ sorry," Druella said softly, protectively clutching the baby closer to her as her husband leaned over to see the baby's face. "I know you wanted a boy."

"Of course I wanted a boy, how can a female be of any use to me?" Cygnus snapped, glaring intensely at his daughter. "You need to provide an _heir_ for the Black family, Druella."

"I know, Cygnus, I will," Druella said confidently, "I will provide an heir."

"Not a firstborn, though, you've already ruined that," he said in a merciless tone.

"Cygnus," Druella said, sounding incredulous, "It's not like I can _choose_ the gender of the baby-"

"Shut up, Druella!" he snapped at her.

The baby woke up and screeched loudly, making both of her parents jump.

"What does that thing want?" Cygnus said harshly.

"Don't call her that!" said Druella. She pulled the baby even closer to her, and the child let out another screech from being squeezed so tightly.

"What should I call her, then?" Cygnus snapped. "Did you pick out a name?"

"No," said Druella, "No, tradition says that the father picks the name of his firstborn child, especially in such an important family -"

"Let me see her," said Cygnus, holding out his arms.

Druella looked horrified at the thought of handing her precious baby girl to her angry, harsh husband, but before she could react, Cygnus had snatched the baby. He held her up to his eye level, staring into her pale little face. She stared back at him, holding his gaze.

"Well, she certainly is a Black," said Cygnus to himself.

Druella glanced at him hopefully. "What makes you say that?"

"Do you see her, Druella? She looks nothing like you Rosiers," - for all of the Rosiers had straight dirty-blonde hair, delicate features, blue eyes and pale skin with freckles, Druella being no exception - "Sharp elbows, sharp nose, dark eyes, dark hair, high cheekbones. God, Dru, look at her jaw! She looks like Walburga without the snobby expression. Very aristocratic."

Druella smiled, realizing that Cygnus was already warming up to the child. "She does, doesn't she?"

"Her name will be... Bellatrix."

"Bellatrix?"

"It's a 20 million year old star, 8.4 times the size of the sun. It's Bayer designation is Gamma Orionis; it is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion, the twenty-seventh brightest in the sky."

Druella looked unimpressed. The Blacks were all very fascinated with astronomy, while most members of the Rosier family were named after their ancestors or flowers or royalty in fairytales and myths. But that was the outcome of the small difference in the purity of their blood. Rosiers were slightly less pure, so they named their children after royalty. Blacks were so pure, they named their children after the stars because they were above everyone and everything else.

"It means 'Beautiful female warrior.'"

Druella raised her eyebrows. "Warrior? What makes you think she'll-"

Bellatrix chose this exact moment to let out another high-pitched screech and to begin kicking her legs furiously, demanding her father's attention.

Cygnus chuckled. "A warrior, indeed," he said, pulling the baby closer to him and rocking her gently. She gave him a look that was a semblance of a smile. "And definitely a Black through and through."

"You're not too upset with me, are you?" Druella asked worriedly.

"No," said Cygnus, "I suppose not. It's not really your fault. After all, when our son is born, he will be the heir regardless of the gender of Walburga's child. And besides, it's not like you can choose the gender of the baby."

The last thing that Druella saw before drifting off to sleep moments later was her husband whispering gently to the little baby, who stared up at her father with wide eyes, her little hand wrapped around his finger.


	2. Chapter 2

_"Children behave_

_That's what they say when we're together"_

-"I Think We're Alone Now"

Tiffany

"I'm _bored_," whined four-year-old Sirius Black, who had draped himself dramatically over his father's armchair. "Let's go do something interesting."

"You don't think _anything _is interesting," four-year-old Bellatrix pointed out, never looking up from her unicorn coloring page.

"Yes I do!" said Sirius defensively, standing up. "I wish Andromeda wasn't napping. _She _isn't scared to do all the fun stuff-"

"I am _not _scared!" Bellatrix shrieked, dropping her crayons immediately. "Andie's just a baby, anyway! And I'm not scared!"

"Then let's _gooooo_," Sirius said dramatically. "Stop coloring like a baby, and let's go play Quidditch!"

"We can't play Quidditch," Bellatrix said uncertainly. "It's raining outside."

"Well then what do _you _think we should do!" he said, obviously upset with his cousin's lack of ambition.

"Shh, you'll wake up Tippy!" Bellatrix scolded, glancing towards the elderly drunken house elf sleeping in the corner. "Then we won't be able to do anything!"

"Let's go in your mom's room and play with her stuff," said Sirius deviously. This was about the most devilish thing that Bellatrix had ever heard, and it caused her mouth to fall open.

"Sirius, my Mummy will kill us if she finds -"

"But Auntie Druella is downstairs with my Mother and Mrs. Malfoy and Ms. Prince, anyway," Sirius said. "She won't go up to her bedroom while she's having company."

Bellatrix bit her lip. "I don't know, Siri..."

"Bella's a scaredy-cat, Bella's a scaredy-cat!" Sirius chanted tauntingly, doing some type of strange dance.

"I am not! Let's go!" She grabbed her cousin's wrist and dragged him towards the staircase leading up to Druella's bedroom.

After climbing up several flights of stairs and making their way through the maze-like halls of Ebony Manor, Sirius and Bellatrix arrived at the tall mahogany door that suddenly seemed larger and more frightening than it had in the past.

"We really shouldn't be here, Sirius," Bellatrix said, wide-eyed as she looked up at the door knob.

"That's what makes it fun!" said Sirius, swinging the door open and walking into his aunt's bedroom, causing the candle chandelier to light up.

Druella's room was one of the many that the children were not allowed to enter, and for good reason. The floor and walls were so white that they almost hurt the children's eyes. There was an expensive Persian rug lying next to the bed, which looked very old and probably belonged to the Rosier family for many generations. The bed was a pastel, icy blue color with about twenty large, fluffy pillows. An expensive looking vase and a candle were the only things on Druella's night table. There were no personal items in the room whatsoever, no books or jewelry or knick knacks. Two pure white quills sat on Druella's desk beside a bottle of ink, and a small locked chest.

"This room is boring," Sirius declared. "Let's play Gryffindor vs. Slytherin again, Bella."

"Okay, but it's my turn to be Slytherin, Siri, you got to be him last time," Bellatrix reminded him.

Sirius sulked. "_Fiiiine_. We need wands! And capes!" He pulled Druella's closet opened and stepped inside, jerking a red skirt and a green skirt off of their hangers. He tossed the green one to Bella and put the red one around his shoulders, using the drawstring to tie it around his neck. Bellatrix did the same.

"What about wands?" Bellatrix asked, wishing she had never agreed to this. There were already four skirts crumpled on the floor in Druella's closet, and her mother was so concerned with keeping everything neat.

"Let's use these," he said, handing her one of the pure white quills from the desk. "Ready?"

"I guess so," said Bellatrix reluctantly.

Sirius leaped onto the bed, waving the feathered quill furiously, and screamed, "_Die_ you slimy-Slytherin snake, die! _Avada kedavra_!"

Bellatrix dodged the fake spell, somersaulting out of the way, where she hit the desk, causing the bottle of ink to tip over.

"_Never_!" she shrieked. "You die, mudblood filth lover!"

Sirius began throwing pillows at her furiously, causing the bottle of ink on the desk to fall to the ground and shatter. The black ink slowly seeped into the Persian rug, but neither child took notice.

"_Crucio_!" Bellatrix shrieked, aiming the feather at Sirius.

Her cousin fell to the ground, writhing convincingly and clutching his stomach, laughing uncontrollably. He screamed, "Please have mercy on me, oh pure and noble Slytherin! I beg of you!"

"Never!" Bellatrix said. "I don't have mercy for you _filth_!" she kicked him in the leg.

"Ow, Bella, that hurt," Sirius whined, rubbing his leg.

"Don't be a baby," Bellatrix said, folding her arms.

Sirius began to cry and Bellatrix immediately felt horrible. She knelt down beside him. "I'm sorry, Siri, we were just playing! Do you want me to go get something from the ice-box-"

"I fooled you again, you stupid snake!" Sirius roared suddenly, the tears disappearing from his face as his mischievous smile returned. He grabbed a pillow from behind him and smacked it onto Bellatrix's head, knocking the bow out of her hair.

"Hey!" Bellatrix shouted. "No fair!" She grabbed another pillow and began to attack him with it.

"You'd better hope it isn't another girl," nineteen-year-old Walburga Black was saying to her sister-in-law, "I think Cygnus really _will _murder you."

"Thanks for those comforting words, Burga," said Druella sarcastically as she ran a finger over her growing baby bump.

"I don't have to worry," said Walburga, tying her long dark hair back with a purple ribbon, "I already have Sirius."

"How fortunate for you," said Druella. She shot a murderous glare at Walburga's swollen abdomen, praying that the child wouldn't be another boy. Walburga with one son was bad enough, but with two she would be downright unbearable.

"Are you and Abraxus going to have any more children, Emmalia?" Druella asked, trying to shift the conversation away from herself.

"No," said Emmalia Malfoy, one of Druella's best friends, "We're very pleased with Lucius. I don't want to go through all of that again," she said, waving her hand toward the two pregnant women.

"How old is Lucius now, Em?" asked Walburga. "He's a year older than Sirius and Bella, isn't he?"

"Yes, he's five now. I expect he'll be doing magic one of these days. He's going to be very talented; I can tell. We bought him a broom just recently, and he's already doing all sorts of tricks and things. I think he's going to be on the Slytherin Quidditch team eventually, probably captain, if he has time when he's a prefect and Head Boy and all," she said casually.

Walburga looked rather impressed, but Druella and Eileen glanced at one another and rolled their eyes.

"Lucius is very well behaved, as well," said Emmalia. "He's such a polite little thing! He and the Lestrange boy, and your nephew Evan, Druella, they all get along just wonderfully. He's very social. He wants to be Minister for Magic someday, and I'd bet that he will be!"

Druella smiled. "Bella's told me that she's going to be Minister for Magic when she grows up."

"Yes but Bella's a _girl_," said Emmalia. "A _pureblood _girl. She'll never be anything more than what we are now."

Druella frowned slightly. Walburga smiled, hanging onto every word that Emmalia said. Eileen looked depressed.

"You've been awfully quiet today, Eileen," said Walburga, turning to face the pale, dark haired woman, "How is your little halfblood?"

"He's fine," said Eileen softly.

Druella shot Walburga a hostile look which was ignored.

"Are you and the muggle going to have more children?" asked Emmalia.

"Oh, erm... I don't know, probably not," she said, avoiding eye contact with everyone. The look on her face clearly showed that she desperately wanted the conversation to drift away from herself.

"What's the child's name again?" asked Walburga.

"Severus," Eileen said softly.

"How old?"

"He's four and a half."

"I still can't understand why you threw your whole life away," said Emmalia nonchalantly. "A Prince! You could've been so respected! As much as _Walburga_, even!"

Walburga smiled. Born as a Black and married as a Black, she was possibly the most important female in the entire pureblood population. She had hated Eileen when they were at school together because of the equality between them, and she couldn't have been happier when Eileen ran away with the Muggle. Why Druella still insisted upon inviting the blood traitor over was unknown to Walburga.

"Hmm, yes," said Eileen, staring at her shoes, which were slightly scuffed up. She glanced at the clock, which had just chimed. "Oh! I think I'd better be going... I'll see you soon, ladies," she said, hastily grabbing her cloak and disapparating.

"Was it something I said?" asked Emmalia, eyebrows raised.

Druella glared at her, but the arrogant woman did not notice.

"Oh!" said Emmalia suddenly. "I've just gotten Lucius's picture taken, look," she said, pulling a wallet sized photo out of her purse. She slid it across the table to Walburga and Druella.

"Oh, he's simply _precious_!" said Walburga. Druella studied the photo. The boy had chin-length pale blonde hair and the iciest eyes she had ever seen, and although he was smiling, he looked angry and arrogant as he flipped his hair and gave someone behind the camera a dirty look.

"Lovely," said Druella, suddenly feeling the urge to run away from the two women she was with. "I have a photograph of the baby from my Healer, I'll go get it. One moment, it's in my bedroom."

"So, for Orion's graduation party, I'm thinking that we'll..." The voices faded away as Druella walked quickly up the stairs and opened the door to her bedroom.

"BELLATRIX DRUELLA, SIRIUS ORION, WHAT ON _EARTH _ARE YOU DOING?" Druella screeched at the children, who sat on her bedroom floor in a pile of feathers and pillow cases. Her bottle of ink was soaked into her family heirloom rug, her skirts were strewn about the room and the ones the children had on were smudged with makeup. They were both covered in lipstick (which was supposed to be blood from their battle), and her two favorite quills were broken on the floor. The blankets had been yanked off of the bed, the closet was opened, and there was a large mess of spilled makeup staining the white rug and part of the wall. The only thing that had managed to survive, it seemed, was the vase that was knocked over on the nightstand but didn't appear to be damaged.

Druella marched over to her daughter, jerked her up by the wrist, and smacked her, repeating the action on her nephew. Sirius scowled deeply at her, and Bellatrix began to cry.

"I'm sorry, Mummy, I'll clean it all up!" Bellatrix bawled.

"You're damn right you'll clean it all up," Druella snapped at her daughter, who cringed and leaned towards Sirius, thinking she would be slapped again. "What were you two thinking! Honestly, is there _anything _you didn't ruin?! Look at this rug, Bella, this was my great-great-great-great-great grandmother's! That vase belonged to Salazar Slytherin's wife! Those quills are from Persia! And oh, my God, _what did you do to the cats?_"

Druella's white, fluffy Persian cat and her two kittens were slowly emerging from a pile of feathers, hissing and spitting. All three were pink, and it looked like two of them were wearing mascara.

Druella marched into her closet to see what damage had been done there and she hastily picked up the skirts that Sirius had knocked down, dropping them into the laundry chute. She went back into the bedroom, ready to begin telling Bellatrix and Sirius what their punishment would be.

She stepped back into the bedroom and her jaw dropped.

The carpet and walls were clean, the rug was ink-free, the ink was back in the bottle on her desk with the two unbroken quills, the vase was right-side up, the bed was made, the makeup was put away, the cats were white and fluffy again, and Bellatrix and Sirius looked as tidy as ever. The last of the pillows was settling on the bed when she returned.

"How...?" she began, staring at the two four-year-olds, who both stared back at her with their hands behind their backs.

"Did you do this?" she asked.

They glanced at one another and nodded.

"How?"

"I'm sorry, Mummy-" Bellatrix began, her eyes filling with tears again.

"No, no, baby, you're not in trouble anymore," she said, kneeling down in front of the children and pulling them into a hug, laughing. "How long have you two been able to do this?"

"A month?" Sirius asked Bellatrix. She nodded.

"I'm so proud of you!" Druella said, beaming at them. She stood up, brushing off her skirts, and took each child's hand, leading them down the stairs.

Druella poked her head into the drawing room, where she found Walburga alone.

"Where have you been?" Walburga asked angrily. "Emmalia decided you were avoiding her and left!"

"Sirius and Bella just did magic," Druella explained. "Are you coming? I'm taking them to Diagon Alley for ice cream."

Walburga looked shocked and amazed and happy, and she pulled the kids into a hug, one of her rare expressions of emotion. "I'm going to write a letter to your Father, Sirius, he'll be so proud of you! I'll bet he can't wait to tell everyone! I'll meet you there!"

"I'll go get my coat, darlings, I'll be right back," Druella said, kissing each of them on the top of their heads and exiting the room.

"Well that's unusual," Sirius said.

"I've never seen them so happy," said Bellatrix.

"Your Mum was going to _kill _us. You were right."

"I told you so. I'm always right," said Bellatrix. "It's a good thing she's all mood-swingy 'cause of my new brother, or we'd both be dead."

A smile crept onto Sirius's face. "I think your new baby brother deserves some reward for saving our lives."

"Like what?" Bellatrix asked, confused.

The mischievous smile on Sirius's face both terrified Bellatrix and made her very excited.


	3. Chapter 3

_"In our family portrait_

_We look pretty happy_

_We look pretty normal_

_Let's go back to that"_

-"Family Portrait"

P!nk

Eight women were gathered into Druella's perfectly clean and organized bedroom, some bustling around busily, some sitting calmly in one place. Among them were Walburga, Emmalia Malfoy, Eileen Prince, and four of Druella's five living sisters: Magnolia, Ive, Maidyn, and Dinah.

Druella lay panting on the bed, and her eldest sister, Magnolia, reached down to pick up the wailing newborn baby.

"It's a girl."

"_No_!" Druella sobbed, covering her face with her hands in shame and despair. "Why? Oh my god, Cygnus is going to _kill _me!"

"Probably," agreed Dinah, the youngest present, who had perched quietly on the window seat staring out the window the entire time Druella was in labor. She was only fourteen years old and looked slightly shaken from the experience, but she was expecting a child of her own so her mother made her attend her nephew's birth. Well, it was supposed to be a nephew, anyways.

"It's not _that _bad," said Maidyn very unconvincingly.

"It's _pretty _bad," said Walburga.

"Cygnus won't kill you," said the second sister, Ive. "Mum will probably kill you first."

"If you don't kill yourself," muttered Emmalia Malfoy.

"_Em_!" Eileen said, turning to her friend, shocked.

"I would," said Emmalia. "I'd rather be dead than a failure."

"You're _awful_!" shrieked Eileen suddenly, standing up so quickly she nearly knocked her armchair over. All of the women's mouths dropped; none of them had heard Eileen raise her voice before. "I'm so _sick _of you thinking you're better than all of us with your stupid little snide comments! Can you _please _stop being such a _bitch_?! I've never met anyone as insufferable as you! You're conceited and arrogant and you have absolutely _no _respect for anyone else's feelings! You think you're so much better than all of us just because you married a goddamn _Malfoy_, and it's made your head go _so far up your ass_ you've forgotten that the rest of us actually have lives and feelings of our own! The world _doesn't _revolve around you, Emmalia, and _no one cares _if you'd rather kill yourself than have three daughters, so please _shut the fuck up_ for once in your life! I'm leaving, and I hope I never have to see your disgusting snobby face again!"

Eileen pulled her scuffed coat around her shoulder and put her black gloves on, storming to the door. She reached for the handle and paused, turning around.

"Good luck, Druella, dear, I hope you'll still come to visit me, without _her_, next weekend. If you don't, I'll understand," she said, slamming the door behind her as she left, causing the baby to start to cry.

Emmalia stared, jaw dropped, at the closed door for just a few seconds until she regained her composure. "Hmmph. I always knew she'd go rotten after marrying that disgusting Muggle. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'd better go home and get Lucius in bed. Good luck, Druella, perhaps Cygnus won't kill you after all."

She disappeared almost as quickly as Eileen, leaving the sisters alone with Walburga.

"Here," said Magnolia, handing the crying baby to Druella.

Druella took the baby and held her. She was lovely, there was no denying that. She was a small like her sisters had been. Her skin was the color of wintery cream, and her hair was a pale, silvery blonde. She had large, heavily lidded blue eyes.

"She looks like us," Druella said to her sisters, who all looked nearly identical. "She's a little Rosier."

"She's pretty," said Maidyn. "Do you want me to go get Bella and Andie?"

"Sure," replied Druella softly as she rocked the baby.

Maidyn returned moments later with Bellatrix and Andromeda.

"I want see baby!" three-year-old Andromeda babbled, toddling to her mother's bedside.

"Is it a boy?" Bellatrix asked, striding in confidently. Nearly five years old, she knew all about purebloods and how they needed male heirs and many other sons to carry on the family names.

"No," said Ive as she lifted Andromeda and Bellatrix onto the bed beside their mother.

Bellatrix scowled. "Daddy will be mad."

"Hush, Bella," Magnolia scolded. "Don't worry your mother any more than she already is."

Bellatrix crawled over to the baby and looked at her. She wrinkled her nose. "Why's she crying so loud?"

"She's probably cold," said Maidyn, handing Druella a pink blanket that had been both Andromeda's and Bellatrix's. Druella wrapped the baby in the blanket.

"What's she's name?" Andromeda asked her mother, brushing her curly red hair out of her eyes.

"What _is her _name," Magnolia corrected her niece's grammar.

"What is her name?" Andromeda asked again.

"I'm going to call her Narcissa," said Druella.

"Nuh-cissy?" Andromeda asked, raising her eyebrows.

Bellatrix peered over Andromeda to examine Narcissa.

"Be careful, Bellatrix, you'll hurt the baby," scolded Magnolia.

Bellatrix turned to look at her aunt, who was no longer paying her any attention. Could you hurt a baby just by looking at it?

With a loud pop, a house elf entered the room. "Pardon me, Mistresses Black and Madams Rosier," he said, bowing so low that his huge nose nearly touched the ground, "Master Black wishes Number Four to tell you that he will be up in fifteen minutes time."

"Thank you, Number Four, you're dismissed," said Walburga. "I suppose I should take myself out of the line of fire for this one. I'll see you soon, ladies," she said, nodding to Druella's sisters and exiting the room.

"Perhaps we should go as well, and give you and Cygnus some privacy," proposed Magnolia.

"That's a good idea," said Dinah, finally getting off of the window seat. "I have to get back to Hogwarts, anyways."

Druella's sisters left, going home to their own sons and husbands, leaving Druella alone with her three daughters.

She failed three times.

Listening to Andromeda babbling on and on to her annoyed older sister about the new baby as Tippy the House Elf escorted them out of the room, Druella remembered Cygnus's reaction to the birth of their second daughter.

******************************FLASHBACK**********************************************************

Cygnus had entered the room angrily.

"Druella," he had said in a dangerous tone, glaring at the baby, "Another girl."

"I'm sorry, Cygnus," she began.

He had cut her off, snapping, "I thought you said this one would be a boy!"

"Well I didn't know for sure, did I? You can't just go on ignoring your children because of their genders, Cygnus; that is such old fashioned thing to do!"

"How _dare _you speak to me like that?" Cygnus had screamed at her. Bellatrix, who was sixteen months old at the time, had leaned against her mother, looking frightened, and the new baby began to cry.

"I can speak to you whatever way I want!" said Druella.

"Can you, now?" Cygnus said in a dangerously calm tone.

"Yes," Druella said, sounding slightly uncertain.

"And will you continue to do that when I'm through torturing your filthy daughters?"

At this point, Bellatrix began to cry.

"_No_!" Druella had said as her husband pulled out his wand, "I mean, no, Cygnus, darling, please, I'm sorry, that was out of line, I promise it won't happen again, I promise…" she pleaded. He had put the wand away.

"Good." He turned to leave.

"Cygnus, wait," she had said quietly.

"What?" he snapped at her.

"Give me one more chance," she had pleaded.

"And why should I do that?"

"At least there is a fifty percent chance you will still get your heir that way," Druella said, "And I want to please you."

"One more chance, Druella, but we're waiting a few years."

"Thank you, Cygnus, that's all I ask," she said.

He had left.

"Mama, why Dada mad?" Bellatrix had asked, pulling on her mother's hair.

"He wants you to have a brother, Bella."

"My fault?" she asked, her big brown eyes wider than usual.

"No, sweet pea," Druella said, "It isn't your fault."

"Good," Bellatrix had said, looking relieved.

After all, it wasn't Bellatrix's fault.

It wasn't really anyone's fault.

But Druella was beginning to feel like it was hers.

******************************PRESENT TIME******************************************

The door flew opened and Cygnus stormed in, obviously very angry.

"What the _hell_, Druella! I can't even believe this. This is getting ridiculous. This is my worst nightmare. You're the worst pureblood wife that ever existed, do you know that? If I had half of a brain I'd kill you right now!"

"Why don't you, then?" Druella asked quietly.

Cygnus pulled out his wand and aimed it at her. Druella winced and braced herself.

"Daddy!" Bellatrix cried out, running into the room and hugging her father around the legs, apparently oblivious to what was happening before she entered the room.

Cygnus looked to his daughter, to his wife, and back to his daughter. Bellatrix was looking up at him expectantly, staring at him with her big brown eyes, batting her eyelashes, her eyebrows pushed up and together, arms stretched up towards him, wondering why he hadn't picked her up yet.

He stowed his wand away into his robes and hoisted his daughter onto his hip. She kissed his cheek and he smiled at her, but she could tell that he was still angry.

"I'll deal with you later," he said to Druella, glaring at her. He turned to exit, and Bellatrix looked over his shoulder at her mother, her face bearing a distinct and smug look-what-I-can-do smirk.

Druella couldn't help smiling to herself.

Perhaps Bellatrix wasn't an heir, but she certainly had Cygnus wrapped around her fingers.

And maybe that would be enough for her.


	4. Chapter 4

_"You're not even aware_

_You're such a funny pair_

_you're the best of friends" _

-"The Best of Friends"

Pearl Bailey

"Come along, Bella," said Druella, glancing over her shoulder as she pulled her cloak over her shoulders.

"I still don't understand why Andromeda can't come with us," Bellatrix whined, pulling her own cloak on.

"Andie is just a baby, Bella," said Druella gently, taking her daughter's hand and leading her to the fireplace.

"She's almost four," Bellatrix pointed out as her mother grabbed a handful of glittering Floo powder and threw it into the flames, which turned from a glowing orange to a brilliant shade of green. Bellatrix watched, unimpressed.

"But we wouldn't want her to accidentally tell your Father where we're going. Remember, Bella, it's a secret. You can't tell him," she reminded her daughter as she stepped towards the fireplace. Bellatrix jerked her wrist free of her mother's grasp, scowling.

"Why can't I tell Daddy?" she challenged.

"Because Daddy would be mad at Mummy again."

"Daddy is already mad at you," Bellatrix pointed out. "Because you have three daughters and no sons and he doesn't have an heir," she explained, pleased with herself for knowing all of this. "Daddy says if there's no heir then Sirius gets everything, and Daddy doesn't want Sirius to get everything because he's so naughty." Then she frowned. "Why don't I get everything, since I'm the oldest? That would be fair."

"Hush, Bella. You ask too many questions," said Druella, grabbing for Bellatrix's wrist again. Bellatrix jerked it away.

"I can do it myself, I know how!" Bellatrix demanded, stepping into the fireplace. "Where are we going?"

"Spinner's End," Druella sighed in defeat, making a mental note to call a tutor for etiquette classes.

"Spinner's End!" said Bellatrix loudly and clearly, throwing more glittering powder into the fire at her feet. She disappeared up the chimney.

Bellatrix tumbled out of an ashy fireplace into one of the strangest rooms she had ever seen in her life. There were several small, dirty, cobweb-covered windows with the curtains drawn. There were many bookshelves in the room of all different shapes, sizes, and colors. All of them were dusty and covered in spider webs, and some of them were broken. A threadbare sofa, an old armchair, and a rickety table were the only pieces of furniture that fit into the room. A candle-filled lamp hung from the ceiling.

Bellatrix stood up and brushed off her dress. She examined a large scrape on her elbow. It would leave a scar, and her mother would be mad, and she'd never be allowed to use Floo on her own again. She pulled her cloak back on, covering the scrape.

There were several bangs from upstairs, followed by a scream.

"Hello?" Bellatrix called out hesitantly, her eyes on the ceiling.

"Shh!" came a frantic whisper from Bellatrix's right. She turned quickly and saw a small boy squeezed between the couch and the wall, obviously hiding.

Bellatrix opened her mouth and was about to say something when she was cut short by the sound of footsteps thundering down a flight of stairs.

"Get over here!" the boy whispered, beckoning her frantically. He squeezed farther behind the couch, and Bellatrix squeezed in beside him.

They listened as a door banged opened and unsteady footsteps made their way to the front door, which opened and then slammed shut.

They both exhaled in relief, although Bellatrix hadn't noticed that she was holding her breath. She began to get up.

"Wait," said the boy, grabbing the back of her dress to hold her in place.

"Why?" she whispered.

"He might come back," the boy explained, looking concerned.

"Who is he?" Bellatrix asked quietly, concerned.

"My father," said the boy, frowning.

"Why's he so angry?" Bellatrix whispered.

"I don't know," said the boy. "He doesn't like us, and he's drunk."

"Drunk?" Bellatrix asked. She wasn't familiar with the word.

"Yeah, it means that -" he began to explain, but he was interrupted.

"Severus?" a weak voice called out. "Where are you?"

"Go out," said Severus, pushing her from behind the couch. He followed her back into the dark room.

Bellatrix's jaw dropped when she saw the woman in the room. Her lip was split and her nose was crooked as she held a blood-soaked handkerchief against it. She had a black eye and her jaw was bruising, and there was a cut on her eyebrow. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

Eileen looked surprised to see Bellatrix in her sitting room.

"Bella, honey, when did you get here?" she asked gently, looking embarrassed about her injuries. "Is your mother-"

At that moment, the flames in the fireplace turned green and Druella stepped out.

"Bella, darling, I'm sorry I took so long. You forgot your- Oh, my God, Eileen! What happened?" Druella asked, extremely concerned. She dropped Bellatrix's mittens onto the ground and rushed over to her friend, pulling out her wand.

"I don't want to talk about it," said Eileen softly, glancing towards the children.

"Did Tobias do this?" Druella demanded. "He hits you? Why didn't you _tell _someone? Come on, honey, I'll get you fixed up," she said, putting an arm around her friend's shoulders. She began to lead her out of the room.

"Severus," Eileen called quietly over her shoulder. "Go play with Bella outside for awhile."

"Okay, Mum," said Severus as he grabbed his cloak from a hook beside the fireplace. He led Bellatrix out the front door into the cold January snow.

They walked for a minute or two in silence.

"Your name is Severus, right?" Bellatrix asked quietly.

"Yep," he replied, keeping his eyes on a fence in the distance. "You're Bella Black."

"Yes," said Bellatrix, examining Severus. His clothes were obviously well-used. Both knees had patches. His boots were scuffed, as was his jacket. He wore Muggle clothes, which Bellatrix had never seen before, and they looked very strange. He had an old, faded Slytherin scarf around his neck. He was small, almost scrawny, and very pale. There were a few faint freckles on his nose. He had small, black eyes, and she had yet to see him smile. His hair was long but not too long, like he needed a haircut.

"Why are you watching me," asked Severus, his eyes still facing forwards.

Bellatrix blinked, surprised. "How did you know I'm watching you? You didn't even look!"

"I have eyes on the back of my head," he said sarcastically.

"Why do you dress like a Muggle?" asked Bellatrix, ignoring his comment.

"Because this is a Muggle neighborhood."

"Really?" asked Bellatrix, looking around, suddenly nervous.

"Yes," he said boredly.

They both fell silent for about two minutes before Bellatrix couldn't contain her curiosity any longer.

"Where are we going?" she asked, catching up with him. He may have been small, but she was much smaller, and it was hard for her to keep up with him.

"To the playground," he said.

"Oh," said Bellatrix, trying to hide the fact that she had absolutely no idea what a playground was.

After another minute, she asked, "Severus, do you know any Muggles?"

"Yes," he said. "My dad is a Muggle."

Bellatrix's eyes widened. "So, you're not a pureblood?"

"Nope," he said nonchalantly, sneaking a glance at her for the first time. She was staring at him, impressed.

"I've never talked to someone who wasn't a pureblood before," she said. "Except the maids."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Well because I'm a Black," she said.

"So?"

Bellatrix didn't have an answer for that one. She frowned, trying to remember what her father had told her. "Because the Blacks have the purest blood?" she said questioningly, as though it didn't really make sense to her.

"I don't see why blood is so important," said Severus. "You're a pureblood, I'm a halfblood, and we're having a nice conversation without killing each other."

"Can you do magic?" Bellatrix asked.

"Yes," said Severus, offended. "Halfbloods can do magic, too!"

Bellatrix frowned. "Well, my Daddy says I'm not supposed to talk to people who aren't pureblood."

"Why does he say that?"

"I don't know," Bellatrix admitted.

They walked quietly again.

"Severus?" she asked suddenly.

"What?" he said, slightly annoyed.

"My Mummy says you're a Prince, but you're a halfblood. How does that work?"

"My Mother is a Prince," said Severus. "My father is a Muggle."

"So, you're like, a halfblood Prince?" Bellatrix asked.

A smile crept onto Severus's face. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"Cool," Bellatrix declared as they rounded a corner.

Then she laid eyes on the strangest thing she'd ever seen in her life. It was a large sculpture of some type, made mostly of bars and sheets of metal and chains. There were several children playing on it: climbing up a ladder, sliding down a sheet of metal, going across some type of bridge.

"What," she said, "Is that?"

Severus looked at her like she was crazy. "That's a playground! Don't tell me you've never seen one," he said.

"I haven't," said Bellatrix, staring at it wide-eyed.

"That's the saddest thing I ever heard," said Severus, grabbing Bellatrix's wrist. "Come on, we'll go on the swings."

Bellatrix allowed the boy pull her over to two planks of wood, hanging from ropes on a tree branch. Like a gentleman, he wiped the snow off of her swing before showing her how to hop on. She sat still on the swing, watching the other children play on the playground. Soon, she realized Severus was swinging high in the air beside her.

"Come on, swing!" Severus called to her.

"I don't know how!" Bellatrix said, watching him.

"Kick your legs back and forth," he said.

She made an attempt with no success. Severus laughed and Bellatrix watched in horror as he swung high and jumped off, landing in the snow on his feet.

"Are you trying to be killed?" she scolded him.

"No," he laughed. "I'm just having fun. Here, I'll push you, and you can jump off."

She laughed as he pushed her higher and higher until she was nearly as high as he had been moments before.

"Jump!" he called, now standing off to the side.

"No way!" Bellatrix called.

"Jump!" he cheered.

"No!" she screamed, laughing, her eyes watering from the cold air rushing into her face.

"Jump, or I'm just going to walk home and you'll be lost!"

Bellatrix waited until the swing was at its peak and jumped off, landing on her feet in the snow before falling forward.

"See, wasn't that fun?" Severus asked, running over to where Bellatrix was picking herself up off the ground.

"No!" she said, brushing snow off of her dress and tights. "That was terrifying!"

"You liar," he said, smiling at her. "You want to do it again!"

"I do not!" she said, stomping her foot.

"Fiiine," he said, looking around. "Let's build a snowman."

"Okay," she said, looking around for an area with lots of fresh snow.

"You do know what a snowman is, right?" he asked.

"Yes!" she said indignantly. "Of course I know what a snowman is!"

"Well, you didn't know what a playground was, so..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he was hit in the face with a snowball.

"Hey!" he shouted angrily, whirling around to a fat boy who had just thrown a snowball at him.

Bellatrix turned, too. The boy was ugly and fat and had almost no neck. His face was bright red as he sneered at Severus. There were two people behind him, backing him up. One was tall and thin and possibly even uglier than the first. He looked like a rat. The other was shorter than the first and almost just as fat. Bellatrix's jaw fell as she realized that the third person was a girl.

"Who's your girlfriend, Snape?" taunted the fat boy.

"I'm not his girlfriend," snapped Bellatrix.

"Go away, Vernon," said Severus, looking embarrassed.

"No, I don't think you got enough snow down your shirt, you freak," said the girl. "Let's get them, boys!"

Suddenly, the two of them were being pelted by snowballs.

Severus began to run away, and Bellatrix caught his wrist as she shrieked furiously, snow dripping down her face.

She had never been so mad in her life. How _dare _they treat her like this, didn't they _know _who she was?

And suddenly, the shower of snowballs stopped. Bellatrix opened her eyes, wiping the snow out of her face, and giggled at what she saw.

A huge mound of snow had fallen from the tree above them and landed right on the three bullies.

Severus began to laugh at the confused kids as they emerged from the pile of snow, furious.

"You!" the girl screeched at Bellatrix.

"Me?" said Bellatrix, looking fakely offended. "How could I have done that?" she asked innocently, a gleam of mischief in her eye. "Come on, Severus, I don't think they'll bother us again."

She grabbed his hand and led him back to the sidewalk, back towards the house. They both laughed and went over the fight several times.

"I like you," Bellatrix declared. "Let's be friends."

"Okay," Severus agreed, "I like you too."

"Look!" Bellatrix shrieked suddenly, pointing towards a small tree in one of the front yards. There was a small black kitten in the branches.

"Let's climb the tree to get it," suggested Severus.

"Climb the tree?" Bellatrix repeated doubtfully. "That sounds like a bad idea. I'll tear my dress."

"I'll climb it, then, and hand the kitten down to you."

"Okay," she said, and they walked over to the tree. Severus couldn't reach the lowest branch.

"How do we get it?" Bellatrix asked, worried. "It's going to freeze!"

"Kneel down," suggested Severus. "Put your hands together." She did as she was told, and Severus used her clasped fingers as a stepping stool. He climbed the tree, and grabbed the kitten, which was too cold to protest.

He climbed back down carefully, using one arm. Straddling the lowest branch and hanging onto it with his left arm, he handed the kitten down to Bellatrix, who clutched it against her chest, trying to keep it warm.

Suddenly, Severus slipped. They both screamed as he hit the snow, headfirst. Instead of crumpling on the ground like a Muggle would've, Severus bounced once, twice, and then landed on his feet.

They both burst into laughter again, hooked arms, and walked back to the house, neither aware that a thin, brown-haired little girl with a very long neck and horse-like teeth had been watching them from her bedroom window the entire time.

"Mother, we're back!" Severus called as they walked in the front door, both dripping wet and freezing.

"We'll be right down, kids," Druella called from upstairs.

"Hang your cloak up and take off your boots," said Severus, taking the kitten from Bellatrix. "I'll go find her a blanket and a bowl of warm milk."

"Okay," Bellatrix said, peeling the wet cloak from her skin. She sat on the floor in front of the fire for warmth.

"Bellatrix Druella Black, you're getting Ms. Prince's rug all wet!" Druella scolded, pulling out her wand and drying her daughter's clothes.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Prince," said Bellatrix, although she didn't actually feel very sorry. "Severus went into the kitchen, he'll be back in a moment."

"What on earth were you doing that got you so messy?" asked Druella, rebraiding Bellatrix's wild hair and straightening her bows.

"We had a snowball fight," she said, leaving out the details, because if she told her mother what really happened, she doubted she'd be allowed to play with Severus again.

"You're going to catch a cold," said Druella, placing her fur coat over her daughter's shoulders. Bellatrix shivered.

Severus returned in dry clothes with the cat wrapped in a blanket, a bowl of milk in his hands.

"Severus Snape, what is that thing doing in my house?" scolded Eileen, whose face was now completely healed thanks to Druella.

"Me and Bella found it, can we keep it?" asked Severus. "Pleeeeaaasee!"

"Not a chance," said Eileen. "What would your father say if he even saw that thing in our house. Let it back outside."

"It's cold out there!" Severus protested. "She'll freeze to death!"

"Mummy," Bellatrix said, turning to her mother. "Mummy, can we take him home? Please?"

"No, Bella. You already have a cat."

"But Mummy!" Bellatrix protested. "We can't just leave him outside! He'll freeze!"

"I said no, Bellatrix."

Bellatrix looked up at her mother, batting her eyelashes and pushing her lower lip out. "Pleeeeaaasee Mummy? Pretty please? Pretty please with sugar on top?"

"Bellatrix, stop begging!"

"Daddy would let me!" Bellatrix exclaimed, frustrated. "Daddy says I can have whatever I want, and I like him better than you!" she shouted at her mother.

"Bella!" Druella scolded as tears began to form in Bellatrix's eyes. "Fine. Fine, keep the cat. But if it causes any trouble, we're getting rid of it immediately, do you hear me?"

The tears disappeared instantly and Bellatrix smiled. "Thanks, Mummy!" she said, scooping the cat off of the ground. Druella frowned; her daughter's ability to produce fake tears to get what she wanted fooled her almost every time.

"What should we call him?"

"It's a _girl,_" said Severus.

"How do you know?" Bellatrix asked.

"I don't know," he said. "I just think it is."

"Well I think it's a boy," said Bellatrix.

"Well, it's going to be a girl, because I said so and I'm older."

"How old are you?" Bellatrix questioned.

"I'm five years and eight days."

Bellatrix scowled.

"Am I older than you?" Severus asked.

"Yes," she admitted angrily.

"You're only four," he taunted.

"I'm four and eight months!" Bellatrix said defensively. "And I'm a _pureblood, _so why don't I pick the gender of our cat! It's _my _cat, anyway!"

"It's a _girl,_" said Severus.

"It is not!"

"I don't want to be your friend anymore," said Severus, turning to walk into the kitchen.

"Fine!" Bellatrix said. "Fine, it can be a girl. Severus, come back!"

He came back, a triumphant smile on his face. "Good. You can pick the name."

"I'm bad at names," said Bellatrix.

"Let's name her Elsa," suggested Severus.

"Elsa? Why?" asked Bellatrix.

"I read a book with a lion called Elsa," said Severus.

"Okay, then," said Bellatrix. "Elsa it is."

"Come along, Bella, we have to go," said Druella, re-entering the room with Eileen.

"Aww, okay," said Bellatrix, disappointed. "Bye, Severus."

"Bye," he said, sounding equally disappointed.

"Say goodbye and thank you to Ms. Prince," Druella told Bellatrix.

"Goodbye Ms. Prince, thank you for having me over to play."

Eileen smiled. "You're welcome anytime, Bella. Thanks for playing with Severus."

"I'll see you soon," said Druella to Eileen. "We'll have to get together again one of these days."

"Yes, that'd be lovely," said Eileen. "Goodbye!"

"Take care of yourselves," said Druella. "Write me immediately if... well, you know."

Eileen bit her lip and nodded in agreement.

"Bye," said Severus quietly, watching as Druella picked up Bellatrix and threw the glittering powder into the fire.

"Number 12, Grimmauld Place!" Druella said clearly, and the two of them disappeared up the chimney.

Severus smiled a little bit to himself.

He never had a friend before.


	5. Chapter 5

_"All I can say is it was_

_Enchanting to meet you"_

-"Enchanted"

Taylor Swift

Almost a year had passed since Bellatrix first met Severus Snape. It was Christmas Eve, the night of the big Pureblood party. Bellatrix's parents had explained to her countless times how important it was to be on her best behavior that night. Because she and Sirius were now five years old, they would be allowed to attend the children's party that was held in the largest playroom of Grimmauld Place. Children under the age of five were always forced to stay home with a nanny or with a house elf. Children eleven or older went with all of the adults to the real party, which was actually a gala in Grimmauld Place's huge ballroom. And children between five and ten went to the children's party.

But now, Bellatrix was pouting because  
Andromeda would not be allowed to attend the children's party because she was  
only four, and neither would Severus because he was a half-blood. She was also  
pouting because she was forced to wear a dress that was not comfortable at all  
because it had, in her opinion, way too much lace. Her hair was tied very tightly  
into two long French braids, which were so tight that they pulled on the skin  
at her temples, giving her a headache.

The nanny, Eliza, led Bellatrix and Sirius  
to the largest playroom. The double French doors swung opened, and Bellatrix  
and Sirius looked at one another, surprised. They had never seen so many  
unhappy, uncomfortable-looking, well-dressed children in one room.

"Hello, Bella, Sirius," a ten-year-old  
girl with long, tan hair greeted them. She walked over to them, smiled politely  
at the maid, and said, "I'll introduce them to everyone. Thanks for bringing  
them down here. You can go."

Eliza looked surprised by the girl's  
assertiveness, but she shut the double doors and walked away like she was told  
to.

"You both remember me, right?" the girl  
asked them. "I'm Lucrieta and Ignatius Prewett's oldest daughter, my name is  
Petra."

"I remember," said Bellatrix.

"Mhm," said Sirius in agreement, looking  
bored. It wasn't easy to forget the Prewett children. They were all very  
beautiful and very bossy.

"My mother is your father's sister,  
Sirius," she said, as though they needed further explanation as to who she was.

"I know," snapped Sirius. "We study our  
family trees."

"Oh," said Petra, slightly taken aback. "Well, let me introduce  
you to everyone."

Over the course of the next hour or so, Bellatrix and Sirius were introduced to every well-dressed, unhappy child in the entire nursery.

They met Cynthia Parkinson and Bertha Jorkins. They met the Rosier twins, Clio and Cade, their sister, Estelle, and their cousins, Jason and Evan. They met Demotius Greengrass and Luka Romanov, Zechariah Bulstrode and Augustus Rookwood, James Potter and Winter Jugson, Lucius Malfoy and Edwardo Borgin. They met the Selwyn siblings: Damien, Alpha, Archer, Paisley and Rome. They met the Flints, Elite and Canis, and the Lestranges, Ced, Rose, Rodolphus, Rabastan, Rasia and Amorette. They were introduced to the Dolohovs: Maria, Anastasia, and Antonin, and the Prewetts: Petra, Adelaide, Anita and Azalea.

Some faces were recognized, as the Prewetts and Rosiers were close cousins, and the Malfoys and Dolohovs were close family friends. Other faces were completely new, but there wasn't a single name that Bellatrix and Sirius didn't recognize.

Although they were only five years old, if asked, they could have easily explained their relation to every person in the room.

The fact that they _were _related to everyone in the room seemed impressive enough. If that wasn't magical, what was?

Three hours later, Bellatrix was sitting on the ground with her ankles crossed underneath her, combing through the hair of a porcelain doll that she was using to play with Amorette and Rasia Lestrange and Anastasia Dolohov. Rome and Paisley Selwyn and Winter Jugson had been playing with them until Rome grew bored and purposely broke the head off of Paisley's doll. The two girls were now being scolded by Eliza the nanny out in the corridor.

Which meant that the door was propped opened. And that caught Bellatrix's attention. She looked over to see where Sirius was; they had been planning to escape the horrible party at first chance, and that chance had just presented itself. Sirius was deep in a game of Gryffindor vs. Slytherin with James Potter.

"Siri," Bellatrix said, abandoning the creepy doll and Anastasia and Rasia to go find her cousin, "Let's go get some food from the kitchen."

"Not now, Bella," he said, dodging a fake  
curse of James's. "I'm playing with James."

"Let's go down to the party, then," she said, for they had planned on crashing the party together.

"I'm playing with James right now!" Sirius said, annoyed.

"But Siri!" Bellatrix protested, stomping her foot.

"Not now, Bella!" Sirius said.

"Yeah, Bella," said James. "Just go away. No one wants to play with a _girl._"

"Fine," said Bellatrix, tears filling her eyes. "Fine. I'll just go by myself."

She walked over to the double French doors, and paused for a moment to see if Sirius would change his mind. When it became apparent that he really was more interested in playing with James than in going to the party, Bellatrix quietly opened the door and slipped out by herself, wandering down the stairs to the ballroom.

She went in and saw many handsome men in  
dress robes and beautiful women in floor length ball gowns, all doing the same dance to beautiful music that was being played by enchanted instruments at the head of the room. Everyone was dancing, eating, talking, and laughing. Bellatrix stood for a moment, staring at the place in awe. It was the most magical thing she had ever seen.

Her eyes followed each couple around for  
several minutes until she saw a man standing alone in the corner of the room,  
watching the couples like she had been.

Bellatrix stared at him for a moment. He didn't notice her. She took a deep breath, and, feeling sorry for the man, she crossed the room to speak with him.

"Hi," she said, looking up into his face.

He blinked, startled, and glanced around quite above her height, and then his gaze fell and met hers.

"Hello, there," he said quietly. "What's your name?"

"Bellatrix Druella Black," she said, tilting her face back so she could see him better.

"That's a lovely name," he said, his dark eyes never leaving her face. Bellatrix liked him: he didn't bend down to her level to talk to her like most adults did, and it made her feel grown up. He wasn't glancing around trying to find her mother, either, which also heightened her opinion of him.

"What's your name?" Bellatrix asked.

"I'm Tom," he said.

"Tom," Bellatrix repeated. "I like you," she declared. "You can call me Bella."

"Alright, Bella," he said, the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile. "So, tell me. How old are you?"

"I'm five years and seven months old and I'll be six on May 2nd," she said.

"Wow, practically a grown lady!" Tom said.  
Bellatrix watched him carefully. Like most of the people in her life, he seemed to be above emotion. But if she looked closely enough, she could tell that he was actually smiling at her.

"I guess so," she replied doubtfully. "I  
just want to turn eleven so I can go to Hogwarts."

"What house will you be in?" he asked her.

"Slytherin," she answered automatically.  
"That's what Daddy says, anyway."

"Do you always listen to what Daddy says?"  
Tom asked.

Bellatrix's eyes narrowed. "No, not  
always."

"Good," he said, the faint smile returning  
to his face. "Don't let anyone tell you what to do, Bella."

"I won't," Bellatrix said unsurely. She  
was beginning to grow suspicious about Tom. There was something about him that  
made her slightly uncomfortable, probably because he had just flat out told her  
not to listen to her father, or anyone else for that matter. And her mother had  
told her to always be obedient when a man told her what to do.

Bellatrix stood against the wall next to  
him and they watched the couples spin around the ballroom.

"Can you do magic, Bella?" he asked  
several minutes later.

"Yes," said Bellatrix, slightly offended.  
"Of course I can."

"Show me," he said.

Bellatrix frowned in concentration and  
held out her hand, and a small orange flame appeared in her palm.

Tom smiled. He slowly reached out his  
finger and put it into the flame.

Bellatrix watched him, unsure of his  
motives.

"That's very good, Bella," he said  
quietly, the small smile on his face once again. "But it's just a pretty little  
thing, not good for getting anything done."

"Just a pretty little thing," Bellatrix  
repeated, the flame disappearing from her palm as she let her hand fall to her  
side. "How do I make it so that it isn't just a pretty little thing?"

"You have to work," he said. "And  
practice. And learn. And maybe, someday, that little flame won't just be some pretty  
little thing, only good for looking at. Maybe that little flame will be  
something powerful, something that can consume and burn, something that is  
useful."

"Something powerful," she repeated quietly  
to herself.

"Do you think you can make it something  
powerful?"

"Make it so that it can burn?" she asked,  
looking for clarification.

"Yes," he said. "Something powerful, that  
can destroy things. Can you do it?"

"Yes," said Bellatrix, "I can."

"Good," he said, pulling out his wand. A  
beautiful black and red rose appeared out of thin air. He handed it to  
Bellatrix. "This is for you," he said quietly. "When all the petals fall off, I  
will be back. Then I want you to show me the fire that burns."

"Okay," said Bellatrix, taking the lovely  
dark flower from him.

"Bellatrix Druella Black!" a familiar  
voice scolded. "How dare you leave the nursery! I strictly forbade you to -  
oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Riddle, has she been bothering you? I'll take her  
straight back to her room, I assure you she will be punished -"

"There's nothing to worry about, Druella,"  
said Tom Riddle calmly. "We had a rather intriguing conversation. I'm glad she  
found her way downstairs."

"Oh," said Druella softly, not quite sure  
how to respond. "Well, I'd best be getting her into bed, anyway..."

"Yes, I suppose so," said Tom. "I think  
I'll be leaving now. Goodnight, Bella," he said softly.

"Goodnight, Tom," Bellatrix said,  
caressing the rose petals as her mother pulled her by the wrist out of the  
ballroom.

"Bellatrix Druella Black, what were you  
thinking!" Druella scolded once they were out of the room.

"I don't know, Mummy," said Bellatrix,  
still staring at the rose. "I'm sorry."

"Good," said Druella. "No dessert for a  
month. Now, what was he saying to you?"

"He wanted to see my magic."

"Why? I've told you not to talk to  
strangers, Bella. I don't want you to talk to him again."

"Why not?" asked Bellatrix curiously.

"Because I said so."

"You can't tell me what to do," Bellatrix pouted,  
stomping her foot. "He's Daddy's friend so I can talk to him if I want."

"No you won't, and that's final. Do not  
speak to me like that again, or I'll lock you in your room for a week."

"I don't care," Bellatrix said angrily,  
trying to jerk her wrist out of her mother's grasp. Druella did not let go.

Even after Bellatrix was dragged up to her  
bedroom, dropped onto the bed, and locked into her bedroom, she continued to  
examine the rose.

A rose was not just a pretty little thing,  
she decided moments later, after pricking her finger on one of the thorns,  
causing a drop of her blood to trickle down the stem. A rose was a pretty  
thing, certainly, but it could also do damage. That was what Tom wanted her  
fire to do, to cause damage.

Bellatrix sat up in her bed and laid the  
rose on the night table. She held out her palm, and the little harmless flame  
appeared again. Bellatrix cautiously poked it with her finger, then held her  
finger in it for a moment. It definitely would not burn anything.

Bellatrix got up and walked over to the  
white bookshelf in the corner of her bedroom. After scanning the titles of the  
books, she picked up one that was titled _Magic for the Beginner. _The  
book was meant for children that would soon be entering Hogwarts, and Bellatrix  
was disappointed when she opened it and saw that there were very few pictures.

She brought the thick book back to her  
bed, dusted it off, and opened it up to the first chapter. "Your New Wand: the  
Basic Grips, Common Wand Movements, and Easy Spells." Unfortunately for  
Bellatrix, the only parts of the sentence that she could read were "... New  
Wand... the... Wand ... and ... Spells."

Bellatrix spent several minutes attempting  
to read the rest of the sentence before giving up completely and throwing the  
book to the side.

She glanced back towards the rose, and  
noticed that it was already starting to wilt. She grabbed her water cup from  
the night table, but to her dismay, it was empty.

Then Bellatrix began to panic. The rose  
would wilt, and all of the petals would fall off, and Tom would be back before  
she was even allowed out of her bedroom! She looked around the room, trying to  
figure out what to do.

Suddenly she felt something wet dripping  
onto her hands, which were still tightly clutching the empty cup. Bellatrix  
looked down and gasped: the cup was overflowing with water. Carefully placing  
the cup back on her night table so as to not spill any of the water onto her  
bed, she placed the rose into the water and stood back, examining her work.

The rose already looked better.

Maybe she couldn't make fire that burns,  
but she could make water. That had to count for something, right? After all,  
she mused, water was not just a pretty little thing. Water was useful. For  
washing and for drinking and for watering flowers.

Water was good, she decided, but it wasn't  
what Tom wanted.

She got out of her bed and changed out of  
her dress with too much lace into a nightgown that had a reasonable amount of  
lace, and then took the braid out of her hair. Bellatrix looked into the mirror  
and scowled. Her dark hair was an absolute mess, with tangled curls flying in  
every direction. Why couldn't her hair look more like Narcissa's? she wondered.  
Narcissa, who was now almost one year old, had perfectly straight, wispy blonde  
hair which was the complete opposite of Bellatrix's dark tangles. Even  
Andromeda's hair was prettier than Bellatrix's. Sure, it was curly like hers, but  
at least it didn't tangle so easily, and it was red. Red was, in Bellatrix's  
opinion, much prettier than her brownish-black. And Andromeda's spirals were  
smooth, shiny, and evenly sized, whereas Bellatrix's were... a mess. Druella  
had said it herself dozens of times: Bellatrix had the ugliest hair of the  
three Black daughters.

And it  
was with those thoughts in her mind combined with her current anger towards  
Druella that convinced Bellatrix that maybe it would really be better if she  
didn't have any hair at all.

She  
took her pair of scissors from her nightstand drawer, went back in front of her  
mirror, held out a strand of her hair, and snipped it off.

She  
stared at her reflection for a moment. While most of her hair hung to the small  
of her back, the piece that she had cut went only to her jaw. She cocked her  
head, considering. Then she smiled. And cut another strand. And giggled.

By the time all of her hair hung no lower  
than her jaw, Bellatrix was exhausted. She rather liked her new haircut, but  
she was terrified of what her mother would say to her when she saw it.

She felt slightly guilty about cutting her  
hair, but she decided that it didn't really matter. After all, she wasn't  
supposed to let anyone tell her what to do.

Bellatrix sat cross-legged on her bed, her teddy bear in her lap as she held out her palm once again, desperate to make the flame burn something.

After about an hour of deep concentration, the young witch gave up, deciding she could work on it more efficiently when she wasn't half asleep. She had succeeded in transferring the flame from her hand to the pillow case, but the flame still didn't burn anything. She extinguished it sadly with a sigh.

Bellatrix crawled under the covers in her bed and clutched her teddy bear against her chest, trying to think of a way to get the fire to burn by the time that Tom came back.

And so, for the first time in her life,  
Bellatrix fell asleep thinking about Tom Marvolo Riddle.


	6. Chapter 6

_"Looks like a girl_

_But she's a flame" _

-"Girl on Fire"

Alicia Keys

Bellatrix was playing outside when the last petal fell off of the rose.

It was the middle of April and the weather was not ideal, but the children were suffering from severe cabin fever and the nanny decided that a few hours outside would perhaps improve their behavior as well as their health.

Sirius was lying on his stomach in the cool grass, playing with several small figures made of wax, plastic, wood or glass. Among them were the founders of Hogwarts, Ulric the Oddball, Merlin, Morgan le Fay, Phineas Nigellus Black, several Quidditch players, a kneazle, a hippogriff, a centaur, a unicorn and two dragons.

Every few minutes sixteen-month old Regulus would reach for one of Sirius's toys, and the older boy would slap his hand away, causing the baby to cry. Andromeda sat in the grass beside Sirius, braiding wildflowers into her long, copper-colored hair. Beside Andromeda was Bellatrix, who held Narcissa as she read a book about different magical creatures.

A loud _crack _interrupted the peacefulness of the morning, causing all five of the children to turn their heads sharply towards the source of the noise.

Three men in dark cloaks were striding in sync up the drive to Ebony Manor.

Bellatrix instantly recognized the one who walked in the front.

"Tom!" she called out, pushing her baby sister off of her lap. Narcissa shrieked indignantly, and Sirius looked up from his game in confusion.

"Bella, where are you -"

But his cousin and best friend was already halfway to the men who had paused on the drive, and she did not hear him.

"Hello, Bella," Tom greeted her coldly, glancing towards where the other Black children sat watching. "Go in, I shall meet you inside," he said harshly to the other two men, who immediately entered Ebony Manor without question.

He turned back towards the young girl in front of him. "Have you done what I asked?"

"Yes, sir," she responded, smiling proudly. She held out her palm and looked up to him for confirmation.

"Go ahead," he said.

She frowned in concentration, shutting her eyes, and the little flame that had once danced so innocently on her palm shot up quickly.

When Bellatrix opened her eyes once again, the corners of Tom's mouth were turned up. The flame in her hand was much larger than it had been before, several inches tall now instead of the size of a candle flame.

"It is larger, certainly," Tom drawled, "But can it burn?"

Bellatrix knelt down to the ground and the flame seemed to roll off of her hand onto the grass. She leapt back and the flame immediately shot up until it was two feet tall and at least a foot tall.

Tom watched the fire burn for several minutes, while Bellatrix watched his face for a reaction.

His eyes suddenly darted to her face. "Extinguish it."

She crouched down beside the fire and put her hand face up on the grass beside it. The flame shrunk and crawled onto her hand and she stood up, closed her fist, and the flame was gone.

An ashy black scald mark was all that was left where the patch of healthy green grass had been moments before.

"Interesting," Tom mused, talking not to the eager-to-please little girl standing beside him, but to himself. "You said you're five years old, yes, Bella?"

She nodded, sending her dark curls flying.

"Very interesting. I must say, I'm rather impressed with you, Bella. Do you know of any other children your age that can do something like that?"

Bellatrix scrunched up her face and tilted her head sideways, considering. "Exactly like that?" she asked.

"Any form of controlled magic, I suppose," Tom corrected, his dark eyes greedily and hopefully eyeing the child.

Bellatrix's eyes lit up suddenly. "My friend Sev! He can make our cat do stuff that she isn't trained for. Do you mean that sort of thing?"

"Yes," he said, looking back up towards the house. "Exactly that sort of thing. What did you say this boy's name is?"

"Severus Snape," she said confidently, pulling at a ribbon that was tied into her hair.

A strange look came across the man's face, leaving Bellatrix confused.

"Do you know of any _pureblood _children that can do that sort of magic?"

Bella thought for a moment. She'd certainly never seen any of the Lestranges or Lucius Malfoy or the Dolohov children do magic before, purposeful or accidental, for that matter. "No," she answered.

"Hmm," Tom considered.

"But why do they have to be pureblooded?" Bellatrix asked innocently, remembering the conversation she and Severus had when they first met. "Halfbloods can do magic, too!"

The look he gave her was partially amusement and partially disgust. "Oh, you think so, do you?"

"Yes," she said confidently, stomping her stocking-covered foot on the grass and lifting her chin arrogantly.

"You certainly have an attitude, don't you?" he muttered.

"Mother says I'm incorrigible," Bellatrix said proudly.

"Is that so?"

"Mhm," she said, picking at the lace on the front of her dress. "But I don't know what that means."

Tom chuckled slightly. "I'll tell you what, Bella," he began, "In five years or so, I'm going to come back here and talk to you again."

"Five _years?" _Bellatrix asked incredulously. "That's as much as I've lived so far!"

"It is," he said, the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile. "When you're ten years old, Bella, you'll be old enough to do what I have planned for you."

"What is it?" Bellatrix whispered, captivated by the micro-expressions flitting across the man's face.

"I'll tell you when you're old enough. Now, there is one thing I'd like you to do until then, do you understand?"

"Yes," Bellatrix said.

"You need to watch the other children for me, can you do that? Can you tell me, five years from today, which children have strong magical abilities, and which are weak? Tell me which are good, and which are disobedient?"

Bellatrix frowned, not understanding why such information would be useful to the man standing before her. "Yes, I can do that."

"Good," Tom said. He turned away from Bellatrix and walked towards the front door of the manor. "Oh, and Bella?"

"Yes, sir?" she asked.

"You keep practicing."

"I will, sir," she called. She watched him walk into the house, and then turned around and ran back to where her sisters and cousins were still playing in the grass. Narcissa and Regulus were huddled together, fast asleep.

"What was that about?" Sirius asked when Bellatrix plopped down in the grass, looking up from his game.

"He wanted me to do something for him," Bellatrix said.

"What'd he want you to do, Belly?" Andromeda asked, rolling over in the grass so she was lying on her back, looking up at her older sister. She swiped her long, coppery spirals out of her face.

"Don't call me that," Bellatrix scolded. "He wouldn't tell me what he wanted me to do, but I know it's important."

"How do you know?" Andromeda asked.

Bellatrix scowled at her sister. "You ask too many questions," she echoed her mother.

Andromeda merely shrugged and looked back towards the sky, using her hand to shield her eyes from the sun.

"I wonder why he wanted _you," _Sirius said, rolling onto his back to look up at the sky like Andromeda. "You're just a _girl._"

"There's nothing wrong with being a girl," Bellatrix and Andromeda said defensively at the same time.

"Yeah, yeah," Sirius said.

"Look, Bella, Siri, that one looks like a fluffy bunny," Andromeda said with glee, pointing to a cloud in the sky.

Bellatrix flopped down between her sister and cousin, and they spent the rest of the day watching the clouds float by.


	7. Chapter 7

_"Winds in the east_

_Mist coming in_

_like something is brewing_

_About to begin" _

-"Winds in the East"

Dick van Dyke

Two weeks later, Bellatrix and Sirius had gathered in the giant fort they had built over the past few months. It consisted of many blankets stolen from the closets of various guest bedrooms, held together by Bellatrix's hair clips and some clothespins Sirius had nicked from an elderly house-elf's nest.

The fort was constructed in a small, hidden bedroom they had found during their routine exploration of 12, Grimmauld Place. Surprisingly, or maybe not that surprisingly at all, they had recently discovered that it was unlikely they'd ever know all of the secrets of their ancestral home.

In the past two months alone they had discovered dozens of new treasures, all of which were in a large hat box hidden under the floorboards in the center of their fort.

Bellatrix and Sirius currently sat across from one another, the hat box between them, digging through their new treasures. Their favorite discovery was a comb that, when slid down the crack between a door and its doorframe, rendered the lock useless. They used it to go into all of the rooms they previously didn't have access to, including a door to a secret passageway that allowed them to move around the house unseen by their parents, the portraits of their ancestors, or the house's many house-elves. The bedrooms of the house's previous occupants held the best things.

From Phineas Nigellus's room came a dusty, half-complete map of Hogwarts and a Slytherin robe from 1858. Ursula's half of the room provided an ancient diamond and gold necklace that Sirius and Bellatrix had seen Jezebel Slytherin wearing in several of her portraits, and an antiquated copy of the Flint family tree. Elladora's room fascinated Bellatrix the most; portraits of the older woman revealed that she looked almost identical to Bellatrix. Items in Elladora's room included a dozen silver daggers and a dusty old photo album that included photos of Elladora's sister, Isla, who was disowned for marrying a muggle, so Bellatrix and Sirius had never seen a photograph of her before. They found a room that they presumed was Isla's; it was filled with Muggle clothing, Muggle photographs, and Muggle books. A discarded Black Family ring with her name etched into the inside was found under the bed. Sirius Black the first's room was equally fascinating; he had died at the age of eight, only two years older than Bellatrix and Sirius were now, and a portrait of him from shortly before he passed away was nailed to the wall in his parents' room. Bellatrix and Sirius pried it off and brought it to their fort, at the request of its subject, and the three of them were becoming close friends.

Other treasures came from the rooms of Sirius II, Cygnus I, Belvina, Arcturus I, disowned Phineus II, Regulus I (who had died five years previously), Dorea, Marius the Squib, Callidora, disowned Cedrella, Charis, Sirius's aunt Lucrieta's childhood room, and their disowned Uncle Alphard. They found old dolls and spell books, descriptions of what used to happen to squibs, picture books, a pair of mirrors that showed the reflection of one another, several more daggers, some vials of black potion, old toys, several diaries, an ancient looking sneakoscope, the oldest model of the broom known to wizard-kind, really old dresses and dress robes, a creepy puppet, and tons of jewelry.

And now, sifting through the things on the floor of their fort, Bellatrix and Sirius sat in silence.

"Did you notice, they're whispering again?" Sirius asked his cousin.

Bellatrix looked up at him. "Yeah, I noticed."

"What do you think they're talking about, anyway?"

"Today I heard your father tell my mother that that Dumbledore man is the new headmaster of Hogwarts."

"Dumbledore?" Sirius asked, disgusted. "Ew."

"Yeah," Bellatrix said.

They sat silently, contemplating this for a few moments. Their parents- and all of their aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents who lived at Grimmauld Place, for that matter - constantly talked about how insane Dumbledore was, and how he was tainting the minds of children, and how his ideas were all wrong. Would this be the headmaster in charge while they were at Hogwarts? Would this man taint their minds, as well?

"They're getting all anxious about something," Bellatrix said, twirling a strand of her hair between her long fingers.

"Grandfather was talking about some 'Dark Lord'."

"What does that even mean?" Bellatrix asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I don't know. He said that the Dark Lord was going to get rid of all the mudbloods and muggles and rule the world."

Bellatrix was silent.

"Father says it's a good thing," Sirius said. "But I don't know why killing people is good."

"Yeah," Bellatrix said softly. "Me either."

"It feels like before a storm," Sirius stated. "It's all quiet and peaceful, but it's too quiet and there's little whispers like the wind starting to pick up, and soon the sky is going to break open and everything will be crazy."

Bellatrix pondered her cousin's words for a moment, and found them to be true. "Before a storm," she echoed softly. "What does that mean for us?"

"I don't know," Sirius said, shrugging it off like he always did. Sirius ironically didn't have the ability to be serious about anything for more than a few minutes.

"Children!" Walburga called. "Come downstairs this instant! The guests will be here in twenty minutes, and you're nowhere near ready!"

Bellatrix and Sirius quickly packed up their treasures, put them in the hat box, and replaced the loose floorboard. They scrambled down the stairs to meet Walburga.

Four hours later, they were still sitting at the table in the dining room. Cygnus was at the head of the table, with Druella to his right and Orion to his left, and Walburga on Orion's other side. They were in the big dining room due to the large number of their guests. On the side of the table facing the wall were Druella, Mr. Romulus Lestrange, his wife, Mr. Roderick Lestrange and his wife. Then came the children, Carmen and Caine Lestrange who were ten, Ced Lestrange who was nine, Rose Lestrange who was eight, Rodolphus and Rasia who were six, and Rabastan and Annie who were five. Next to Annie at the end of the table was Sirius. On the right side of the table sat Orion, Walburga, Mr. Dmitrii Dolohov and his wife Katrine, then Mr. Abraxas Malfoy and his wife Emalia, and then the children, Olga Dolohov who was eleven, Tatiana Dolohov who was ten, Maria Dolohov who was seven, Anastasia Dolohov and Lucius Malfoy who were six, Antonin Dolohov who was five, and finally Bellatrix. The table lined up so that Bellatrix and Sirius were directly across from one another.

After almost three hours of picking at their food, the children were all extremely bored. They weren't allowed to leave the table, and they weren't allowed to speak, either. The older children managed to listen to their parents' conversation with looks of interest on their faces. Anastasia and Maria seemed to be attempting to keep themselves from zoning out. Amorette kept on picking at a bow on her dress, and Rabastan was swirling the uneaten food around his plate with his fork. Sirius was flipping his fork around on his hand, which, luckily for him, his parents had not caught him doing yet. Bellatrix was watching the older pair of Dolohov girls and Carmen Lestrange in admiration, wondering if, when she was their age, she would be able to pay attention to an adult conversation with such interest.

Ten minutes later, she was so bothered by Sirius's fork twirling, she reached across the table in an attempt to snatch the fork from his hands. Her parents didn't notice this, but they did notice the loud clatter that emitted when Sirius jerked his hand away, elbowing his spoon off of the table. Bellatrix felt it hit her foot.

Mr. Lestrange had been talking - Romulus, that is - and he ignored the sound, as did the other guests, and most of the older children, who had been conditioned to ignore such a thing. Cygnus and Druella and Walburga and Orion all turned to glare at the end of the table. "Pick it up," Druella mouthed.

Bellatrix pushed her chair out, causing an even louder sound, and bent under the table to retrieve Sirius's spoon. That was when she saw it. Olga was tapping her foot furiously against the ground as though her life was depending on it, and the other older children - Carmen, Ced, and Tatiana - were engaged in a giant kicking war under the table, the girls sporting bruises that were beginning to show through their white tights, and although pants covered his shins, Bellatrix was certain that Ced's legs were bruised as well.

Bellatrix sighed heavily. Okay, so maybe it never got any less boring.

She got back up and wiped her long black spirals out of her face, smiling politely as she set Sirius's spoon back on the table. Then she swung her leg forward as hard as she could, and felt some satisfaction when her polished white shoe connected with the khaki material of Sirius's best dress pants.

Sirius's focus shifted from the Black family crest that was engraved on his pure silver goblet to his cousin, who was grinning crookedly at him from across the table. A devilish smirk grew on his face as he kicked her back, his equally polished shoe colliding with her white tights. Bellatrix winced slightly.

_That _was going to leave a bruise.

And so for the next hour, Sirius and Bellatrix delivered the hardest, most violent kicks they could muster onto one another's shins.

They were almost sorry when the adults decided it was time for the guests to go home, and their parents allowed them to get up from the table.

Maybe it'd never get easier, but they could at least count on each other to make it mildly entertaining.


End file.
